Sven willed himself back into the corridor outside his room. He could smell Melinda's tears and could hear her sobs.
He opened the door to see her weeping over the coffin. He stood there, in the door way, and waited for her to notice him.
Melinda could feel something behind her, looking at her. She turned around, and almost leaped for joy when she saw him, standing there, looking calm, complacent, and more importantly, healthy.
"I-I thought you had left." she choked out.
"I went to the surface to hunt." Sven answered.
"That fast?" she asked, amazed. "But it took me hours to get down here..."
"That is the power of the vampire."
Vampire. That's right. Sven was a vampire. Melinda couldn't believe it, as the weight of her situation came crashing down on her. She, Melinda Harvienheight, was talking to a mythical creature that people all over the world read and fantasized about.
"Umm..." Melinda wanted to talk to Sven, but she could not think of anything to say.
"Your clothes...they are kinda...ripped up. I might be able to get you some..."
Sven looked down at himself and realized how right she was.
"There is no need."
With a flick of his wrist, Sven moved his coffin across the floor to reveal a secret compartment beneath it.
Melinda's jaw dropped. Inside the cubby were fine clothes packed in with gold and jewels. Sven reached down and picked out something out of the nook. In a flash, he was fully clothed in the material he had just pulled out.
Sven's hair was now neatly tied back in a black ribbon. His pointed ears now showed clearly. He was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt decorated with golden buttons. His pants were also black as were his boots which were laced together with tightly woven golden fabric. A long, blood red cloak adorned his shoulders and fell to his ankles. The cloak was velvet and was fastened by a crest of a sword. Melinda then noticed that Sven's ear was pierced. The same sword that fastened his cloak hung from his right ear. The pommel of the tiny weapon was inlaid with rubies and the blade was pure gold. His outfit gleamed in the flickering light of the only torch in the room.
Melinda had to admit, this was pretty cool. Sven bent over the compartment again and pulled out a pouch and filled it with gold coins. He then took out a sword in a black sheath and fastened both items to his leather belt. Lastly, he very carefully took out a dagger in its worn leather sheath.
Sven looked at the blade for quite a while. This was the very dagger he had trained with all those years ago. He had managed to slip into the village for his belongings just once before he lay down to sleep for so long. The dagger and a few coins were the only things he had owned at the time. He had preserved the blade with his power. It didn't look a day older then did the night he had gone to retrieve it.
He kneeled down and slid the weapon into his left boot. It was then that he turned his attention to the staring Melinda.
"What are you gawking at?" he questioned, a little more forcefully than he meant to.
"Where...where did you get all of that?" she asked, awe struck.
"Before I went to my rest," he began, "I raided a castle that rested above this very spot."
"You killed a king and queen?" she cut in.
"I killed no one." Sven answered while glaring at the annoying girl. "I chased them out of the castle, took everything of value down to the cellar, and brought the entire complex down on top of itself."
"You can do that all by yourself?" Melinda once again interjected.
"Yes." Sven answered calmly, for he was getting used to her stupid questions. "I rested in the cellar you now stand in for seven centuries past."
"Wow. Hey... vampires are undead, right?" Melinda wondered aloud.
Sven said nothing, but did nod his head in agreement.
"How old were you when you died?" she continued.
"How old are you?" Sven countered, truly getting fed up with this conversation and he started to wonder why he was even telling her all these things? Why was he talking to a human he had only just met? Why was he letting her get to him? Why did he care? He was Sven Von Fredericks, an all powerful vampire, and the oldest living thing on the earth, assuming the man that converted him really had been the last before Sven himself. What did this little girl mean to the likes of him?
She was the only thing he knew.
If there was one virtue that Sven possessed, it was honesty. Everything of his old life was gone, and Melinda was the only thing he was vaguely familiar with. He wanted her around because of that. He knew that to be true, but he was honestly intrigued by this young woman, who was willing to cry for one of his kind.
"What do you mean, how old am I?" Melinda stormed right up to the vampire, so close that Sven could feel her breath on his face. "Don't you know that it is very rude to ask someone you've just met, especially a woman, something like that? I wont answer you question until you answer mine."
She turned away from him and crossed her arms. Sven was dumfounded. A little girl, willing to shout at a vampire? He found that very interesting, but he didn't want to get her to upset. He wanted her to stay for a while. After all, this was the only contact with an intelligent being he had experienced in over 700 years. What could answering one question hurt?
"I was sixteen." he said hesitantly.
Melinda turned around with a smile and laughed.
"Really? That is only two years older than me! I thought you would have been older."
Sven cocked an eyebrow and asked, "How is it that you can go from anger to laughter in a matter of seconds?"
Melinda just shrugged, as if it didn't really matter.
Sven hated to admit it, but it was getting very late. He knew he should return the girl to where she came from.
"It is dark. Where do you wish me to take you for the night? Where is your home?" he inquired.
Melinda's features slackened. She remembered the tantrum she had thrown at her father. No doubt he was worried about her.
"I live in a village a few miles from here. But I can't go back. I had a fight with my father." Melinda blushed as she said this. She was not accustomed to arguing with her dad.
"He must be out looking for you. We must make haste. There are wolves in the woods, and if your father is searching for you there, he may be in danger."
"Alright." She said, worried for her dad. "Let's go."